Review by kerrythefire - Keep Me

kerrythefire 's review for:

Keep Me by Sara Cate

3.75

dark emotional funny tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Ugh. This book is so hard to rate. I was so frustrated and uncomfortable and found the main characters so unlikable for the first quarter of the book... and then really liked the last 2/3 of it. It did make for some good character growth - and the reason they were both so unbearable at the beginning of the book (

grief, trauma, neglect, feeling unseen and never in control of their own lives

) did make sense - but damn they were so messy and immature at the start.

But like I said, once they start to "get to know each other better" - especially Sylvie, through her inner monologues - I really started to like both her and Killian, and their evolving relationship. I actually enjoy really caustic banter - I think it actually takes a lot of trust and security to have a relationship with this kind of communication (when it's not toxic, of course)... and while Sylvie and Killian's verbal exchanges absolutely started out animosity-fueled and toxic, the way things evolved where they used the same kind of language but were actually communicating different things to each other over time (things built on a deeper understanding and "seeing" of each other), was kinda fun to see. It showed how their entire personalities didn't just change. *I know many people will not agree with this take, but it did work for me.

Overall, I really enjoyed the way Killian and Sylvie were drawn to each other (emotionally), and how that confounded each of them for a while, but they just kept being there for each other. The scene where Sylvie

tears into Claire and tells her she'll kill her if she touches her husband again

- fuckin 🔥. And when Killian

blows up at Sylvie's parents and says he loves her through an absolute fit of defensive rage

- good god! 😳🥵

I also really liked the way the third act conflict was written. It could have been the easy

Killian gets mad because he finds out the truth before Sylvie can come clean

conflict, but the fact that it wasn't, and was actually the heart wrenching

'this is the only way'

conflict was so much more satisfying and heartbreaking. And the resolution was equally satisfying.

This book was definitely a rollercoaster, and the initial climb is steep and a bit of a struggle, but once it gets rolling is a really engaging and emotionally engrossing time.

Also, burly Scotsman with accent - this is a baseline 2 stars just for that. Every time.

Content Warnings